Retreads 14

1st edition, December 2005, 25 copies, white cover, regular digest size.

The final issue of this series so far.

There is a strong possibility there will be no issues in the near future for couple reasons. First, I have not been very active as a cartoonist in the last few years. Retreads was a place where I gathered up my comix work that has been published hither and yon. Since 2005 my showbiz energy has been more in the text arena: online at OlyBlog and in hardcopy at Olympia Power and Light.

Secondly, I stopped keeping bibliographical track of my work after October 2007. Since I'm a professional catalog librarian by profession, naturally I kept a running list of all my work for decades. But in 2007 I decided to stop in order to present future bibliographers who give a damn the joy of the hunt for locating the work of my senior years as I slide down the back forty toward oblivion. Hint for an obscuro one: toggle on the logo at the online The Jim and Frank Podcast to catch fellow Washingtonian Pat Moriarity and myself.

You and Your Big Mouth #3

Pat Moriarity's series, popularly known as simply Big Mouth, featured Pat illustrating the stories of others-- including folks who who were primarily known as visual artists. Check out the list of writers on the cover.

And while you're looking up there, you'll also see a dead Starhead Comix logo. Between being contacted to write a story for Pat and actual publication I was surprised to see this title jump from Starhead to Fantagraphics. It's an incident Pat used to comic effect on the cover and in the first few pages.

Our collaboration centered on the fact I had apparently made yet another (failed) attempt at killing off Morty and walking away from comix. This was published in December 1993. By that time I was probably burned out from editing and publishing the biweekly City Limits Gazette (1991-1993).

It is a sad coincidence Barbara Billingsley, the actress who played the role of June Cleaver, died at the same time I was contacting Pat for permission to scan and post this comic. Yes, I really am a fan of Leave It To Beaver.

Pat remains very active in comix. You can find him online and he informs me signed copies of You and Your Big Mouth #3 are available. Pay him a visit.

Pat and I met for the first time last February at the Fantagraphics debut of Michael Dowers' Newave anthology. A nice guy with a face that radiates kindness. Hopefully we'll meet again, but I must say ever since Bruce Chrislip left Seattle I hardly ever attend cartoonist get-togethers.